Human rights activist, Comrade Olusola Onagunwa, has cried out over what he described as a relentless campaign of persecution by the Ogun State Police Command, accusing officers of fabricating charges, threatening his life, and even attempting to humiliate him in open court.
In a statement made available to standarddailypress, Onagunwa — who once served as the Lagos State Secretary of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) and now leads the Advocates in Defence of Human Rights, Justice and Culture (ADHURIC) — said the attacks against him began shortly after his organisation moved its operations to Sagamu, Ogun State, in 2022.
According to him, ADHURIC has been championing the cause of the poor, vulnerable and oppressed in Remo communities and beyond, tackling exploitative landlords, curbing excesses of traditional rulers, and challenging transport unions that, in his words, had “become law unto themselves.”
He recalled how a massive protest he led in February 2025 against tricycle unions drew over 86 riders, only to be confronted by attempts at disruption allegedly backed by union leaders and tolerated by the police.
Beyond transport issues, Onagunwa said ADHURIC had also fought for factory workers abandoned by Chinese, Indian, Lebanese, and Nigerian companies after accidents, housed displaced victims temporarily, and provided legal support for women who suffered sexual abuse.
“These efforts brought relief to ordinary people,” he said. “But they also made me a target for those who profit from oppression, including the police.”
The activist alleged that he has survived multiple death threats and assaults from police officers. He claimed that a senior officer once threatened to kill him within seven days — and, in that same week, he narrowly escaped being crushed by a trailer. In another incident, he alleged, a police inspector attempted to shoot him, but “his gun failed at that instant.”
Most recently, Onagunwa said he was arrested on August 14, 2025, detained overnight, and charged with fabricated allegations of assault. But during a preliminary hearing at the Sagamu Magistrate Court, he said the charges collapsed under scrutiny, with the court striking them out as “null and void.”
Yet, his ordeal did not end there.
“Immediately after the case was struck out, policemen attempted to re-arrest me right there in court,” he alleged. “In the struggle, my clothes were torn and I was nearly stripped naked in public while people recorded on their phones. It took the intervention of the Chief Magistrate to stop them.”
Onagunwa now fears for his life and is appealing for urgent protection. He called on Governor Dapo Abiodun, President Bola Tinubu, and the Akarigbo of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Adewale Ajayi, to shield him from what he described as a “mafia within the Nigeria Police Force.”
He also warned that the judiciary and the Nigerian Bar Association must not look away.
“The court has a duty to enforce my fundamental rights,” he said. “The NBA must also rise to its responsibility and protect the rule of law in Remoland. Silence in the face of such impunity is dangerous.”
